Canada forest fires bring haze to area

July 03, 2008

Forest fires in Saskatchewan, Canada, were the source of the smoky haziness in the Aberdeen area on Wednesday, particularly in the morning. The smoke accompanies a cool front moving into the area from Canada, said Glenn Nielsen of the National Weather Service in Aberdeen. The haze was prevalent in western South Dakota, too, making it more difficult to spot fires in the Black Hills from lookout towers, the Associated Press reported Wednesday. Visibility dropped to two miles in some parts of North Dakota on Wednesday, the AP reported. Tom Grafenauer of the weather service in Grand Forks, N.D., said the risk to air quality is low from from the smoke/haze. The only real effects will be hazy, filtered sunshine, perhaps even today, he said. ''You might notice a faint scent of smoke but other than that, the impacts should be pretty minimal,” he said. As of Wednesday, more than 68 forest fires were burning in Saskatchewan, according to Canadian newspaper Web sites. Reporter Russ Keen; (605) 622-2317 or 1-800-925-4100 ext. 317; rkeen@aberdeennews.com